Watchfall
by Connor McAllen
Summary: A young hacker meets a rambunctious but clever IMC simucralum and, well, read and find out
1. Chapter 1

"That's the last time i get into a drinking contest with an ai, they can't even get drunk" said the boy in the red coat, looking up at the roof of the shitty box he called home. He sat up and went over to his computer, it was a simple machine but probably more powerful than any cTOS or even IMC could cook up. He got the things he needed from his computer and left the house and instantly checked his bank account  
"Shit, skint, hmmm..."

He looked around at all the people going about their lives and decided to introduce their bank account to Project Peirce, a hacking software he made himself. He was about to make a few hundred bucks when his phone was swiped from his hand and a little thief ran off with it  
"Hey!, little shit" he said sprinting after him.

As the thief turned a corner a loud clang could be heard and as he turned the corner he saw a reasonably small figure in a dark blue and red cloak standing over the thief holding them off the ground, as he neared he could hear the figure say something that seemed to terrify the thief before the figure looked at him, With his phone in hand.

"Could I get that back, please"

"Give what back?" Asked the figure.

"The phone, ya daftie"

"Oh? This?" They held the phone up.

"Yes, that"

"Sure. Now what was this guy doing with it?" They said still holding both the phone and the theif, the good id the cloak hiding them from any attempt he tried to see their face.

"Stealing it, probably fencing it"

"What? And who even are you?"

"Who i am isnt important, what matters is YOU give me back my fecking phone"

"Alright fine. It's just a phone. Now you want to take this guy to the police with me?" Asked the figure. Who was still holding both. Almost like they had forgotten they even had it in their hand.

"Sure, i have a hangover so i need some fresh air" said the guy, putting on his black and red military style hat

"Ok. Do you know the way? Because I don't." Said the figure.

"Yeah, follow me and uh, gonnie put him down, you'll get wierd looks from like, half the people here"

"Oh? Am I? Sorry I didn't notice. And if I let him go? Won't he run?" They said pointing to the theif who said "no I won't. Just let me go."

"Alright just know that if you run your getting a bullet between your eyes." The thief looked positively scared at that and when let go didn't run away.

As the thief was put down he got a swift crack in the legs from a steel baton where he crumpled  
"Dont steal my phone next time"

"Where'd you get that? And why did you do that. Can't he like. Sue you or something?" Asked the figure

"Even if he did I, technically, don't exist but even IF he managed to find me i would simply just hack into the law system and erase all crimes I have done, Oh and I hid my baton behind my coat, and if you're going to judge me on weaponry you're threatening to shoot the guy and, pardon me but don't you need a gun to shoot someone, ya daftie"

"Oh well i do though." said the figure while opening their cloak to reveal a G2 semi auto rifle hanging off their hip, but the only thing going through his mind was the fact that underneath that surprisingly un-revealing cloak was the fact that not only was she a simulacrum but she was IMC.

"Okay, so you're a sima-simue-whatever you call it and you're working for the IMC, have i got that right.

"Why yes how perceptive of you, now how about we had this person in."

"Well, no, i will not work with an IMC bot, so thanks for the phone but goodbye" he said grabbing his phone back and hurrying away.

" i will never, ever again work with the damn IMC, not after…"

His train of thought was lost as he summoned up his composure and went to work getting rich from other people's bank accounts.

Line break

"Aaaaaaaw...feck"

The man in the red coat looked up at the 20 storey building and took off his hat and fanning himself with it as, he did when he was nervous,"Awww, feck" said the man in the red coat, as he looked up at the 20 storey building that, at the top, held the main cTOS tower for this district.

"Hmmm" he looked up at the buildings nearby and saw that one had a ladder, which he climbed.

"right , storey 1-5, done" he looked around for something to hoist him up and his eye caught a blue lift, the kind used for window cleaners, sitting beside the window.

It was lowered down as , he assumed, the driver was on break. He hoisted himself up and planted his feet on the floor of the lift.

"Right, time to get cracking, or should i say hacking" he said with a forced fake laugh.

He booted up Project Pierce (named after the famous earth hacker, Aiden Pierce) and it scanned the area for potential interference points.

After locating the lift he got hoisted up to the top of the building, waving to the people in the 12th storey restaurant, and climbed onto the roof.

"There you are…"

He looked at a giant black tower with a control panel just at the bottom but, unfortunately, in-between him and access to the public's very nice things, he had to get past the electric fence surrounding the entire thing.

"Well, lets see…". Said the man thoughtfully, as he went over to the edge of the building and looked for anything that could help him find the panel that controlled the door. At last, he found it, a silver panel which his phone was indicating was wirelessly connected to the door

"That was easy" he said to himself as he walked back to the door and opened it with ease, planting his phone on the panel and hacked into the tower giving his phone complete access to the surrounding area and beyond.

"Bingo now let's-" his thought was cut off by a buzz coming from his phone.

"Huh" he looked down at his phone and saw a message popup, which surprised him because his firewalls should not let anyone get into his phone, the message read

" _Ooh, you naughty boy" - Irene_

"Who the hell is Irene"

"I am~" said a metalic voice behind him as he felt a gun be pressed to his head.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

* * *

" _Who the hell is Irene"_

" _I am~" said a metallic voice behind him as he felt a gun be pressed to his head._

That's all the man in the red coat remembers as he woke up in a very familiar bed, his bed and sat up.

"What… happened, who…were…"

"I'm the who, the where is your house and the happen is your tried to hurt my bossies situation." said a voice from his phone that was next to him.

The man thought about this, pondering over the situation and finally said,

"Huh...cool"

"Really? That's your reaction? I hacked your almost unhackable phone and you're not panicking? Even worse is that i have a copy of every file you own." said his phone

"Think of it this way, i have been hacking people's things and accounts for years and no has been there to stop me but you did, which means that you have a least 30% of my hacking skill which MEANS you're a challenge, and i like challenges"

"would you believe me if i guessed your password?"

"Hmm… seen as its a number code, fingerprint scanner, retina scan, facial recognition, mini - gun in camera and just about 600 firewalls, i would be inclined to ask how you did that, if you please"

"I'm just that amazing. Now the only reason I haven't handed you in is because I'm somewhat untreated in you. I want to know why and who you work for. Now don't try to leave. Unless you want your house, and the surrounding houses, to be bombed into oblivion."

"Well in that case, hi, how are you"

"I'm fine, now why don't you tell me why you were trying to hack and destroy imc property?"

"...mm-mm, i was bored"

"Really, give me a real reason."

"...ummm, i hate the IMC?, does that work"

"But for what reason?"

"Must keep some professional secrets now, mustn't we"

"Well you're hardly a professional."

"Ouch, well, fair enough, must keep some secrets"

"Just tell me, do you want to be bombed?"

"Hmmm, that would be rather unpleasant… fine, i hate the IMC because i'm not from this planet"

"Well, you must have come here before we shut down all spaceports. And that isn't a real reason."

"I wasn't finished, i'm not from this planet because about...3 - 4 years ago just before you shut down you're ports i worked as a ship technician on jopra, i worked with my wife and daughter, and then one day i was called to help on a ship that was considered unreliable and might break down in space, so they sent me, and when i was up there, looking out of the window, i saw the bombs flying and the planet being shelled. An innocent planet caught in the crossfire of your idiotic war and my wife and my daughter died because of you're "peacekeeping". Explain how that is peacekeeping, luv, go on, EXPLAIN"

"Nukes are pretty."

"True but my family was down there and you're operation turned me from a loving father to a ghost, caught in a time where no-one will stop me from exacting my revenge on the IMC"

"Well don't do anything to me, i didn't ask to join, but i'm sure as hell not complaining, but good luck on you mission, oh, and just to prove i wasn't kidding." suddenly a large explosion happened right outside his window.

The man in the red coat gasped and said,

"Again, Again, Again!"

"No. now goodbye."

"Wait…"

"What is it?"

"Anderson Reed"

"Yes?"

"My name, Anderson Reed, but most people call me Little Red"

"Well you can call me iodine. Now good bye" was the last thing he heard before a bullet flew past his head and broke his light, bathing him in darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

_Iodine_

"That was an awesome name" thought Anderson as he went to an ATM and checked which one of his hacked accounts had the most money and was "willing" to make a donation to Project Pierce.

It had been three years since he had made contact with the mysterious Iodine, and in that time a lot had happened. For one, he had joined the militia and in just one year he had reached the rank of chief infiltrator, a rank in the s.r.s, and hacker and was a highly regarded field agent in the history of the war

"Well, well, well… if it ain't little red" said a mysterious figure behind him.

"...Click" said Anderson, a quiver of hatred in his voice.

"I'm happy you remember me, even though it was only, what, 9 years ago"

"What do you want"

"I waaaant… your phone"

Anderson was taken aback at the mention of his phone

"Wha-why… what do you know about my phone"

"I know everything about this city, Anderson. after all, it's my city"

"Well you obviously don't know about me, i protect this phone with my life and i won't change that for you, especially you, besides you wouldn't know how to use it"

"Oh, but i will have this phone, and you and this city will bow before click"

"Keep dreaming, Sunshine" And with that Anderson hacked into the ATM and walked away leaving Click alone

"YOU KNOW WHO I AM, YOU KNOW WHAT I'VE DONE, I WILL HAVE THAT PHONE, RED, REEEEED"

* * *

Anderson returned to his Militia camp and slumped down on his "bed" or more accurately his hammock, and decided that he would call it a day and as he slowly drifted into sleep the only thing on his mind was not Click or the IMC, but, weird as it might be, his last thoughts were of Iodine

"Huh, that's weird…."

* * *

"ANDERSON" screamed the sergeant, making the young man fall out of the bed with a yelp

"Yes, sir...i was just-"

"I don't want to hear it, we need your help, one of our clients need you to hack into their bank account and try and send money to them so they can then help us with our little rebellion, so GET GOING!"

"Why me"

"Because you're the greatest hacker this rebellion has ever seen in a long while, why else"?

"Fiiiiine, how much will i get paid"

"The service to the fronter should be enough payment"

"How much"

"500 credits"

"No." he said matter of frankly

"What, why"

"500, to hack into a person's bank account, do you realize how hard it is to hack into these things"

"You do it all the time!"

"I know, but that doesn't mean it's easy"

"How much do you want then"

"Hmmm… 20,000"

"Never"

"Pleasure speaking to you, now would you kindly get out of my tent"

"Fine, 20,000"

"Thank you"

"Shut up, Reed" Reed grinned happily as the general stomped out his tent, leaning back into his hammock.

"I wonder what he needs the money for…" said Reed as he drifted to sleep, thinking only about how rich he now was.

* * *

"Sonofabitch" said Reed as he looked up at the 140 storey building that at the second top floor was the damn ATM

"Well, then let's get started" as un-enthusiastically as possible,


End file.
